Korean MMORPG Astellia Is Coming To The West In 2019
The official site for the Western (US/EU) version of Astellia went live today with the announcement that the game is scheduled for a 2019 launch! The fantasy MMORPG, developed by Studio 8, was first announced back in 2014 under the working title Project A, and is currently in open beta testing back in its home market of Korea.
Astellia Bills itself as a AAA MMORPG where players collect dozens of magical companion fighters known as Astells which they take into combat in the game's open world, instanced dungeons, faction battles, and in competitive (PvP) battlegrounds. While the game is built on the now dated Unreal 3 engine, the art style still manages to look quite gorgeous in the trailer provided. There are also plenty of gameplay videos recorded on the Korean servers for those who want to take a closer look.
While published by Nexon in Korea, the Western Astellia homepage makes no mention of Nexon, and the familiar logo is no where to be found. Instead, it seems like BarunsOn E&A will be publishing the Western version of Astellia. The game promises not to include P2W (pay to win) elements, with a notice that sign ups for beta are set to start soon. From the feature list provided, it seems like Astellia will play like a classic MMORPG, with a traditional 'holy trinity' class system. Players can get a sense of what to expect by viewing the feature list:
ASTELLIA KEY FEATURES:
The Astell Companion System
Dozens of Astels to acquire, level, and build effective support teams that can combo directly with your character based on classes and skills.
Customizable Skills & Combos
Player Skills have various facets that can be upgraded for different results; reduce cooldown, improved accuracy, increased damage etc etc
Holy Trinity Class System
5 Unique Classes that each serve a purpose; Warrior, Ranger, Assassin, Scholar, Mage
Robust Dungeon System
Solo Dungeons
Group Dungeon
Scaling Dungeon Difficulty Levels
PVP Arenas
Solo & Group Versions
PVE Arenas
Horde Mode Content
Large Scale PvPvE Content
Avalon is a persistent Tri-Faction Map where players vie for dominance each week.
In-depth & Rewarding Crafting System
Further Reading: Astellia 2019 Launch Announcement
